Awards and Badgework
= Awards and Badge Work = The programmes are designed based on the schemes outlined by the Brigade Council, with local companies having full autonomy in executing the programmes. A member shall participate in parades, courses, sessions, trainings or tests in to qualify for the awards, and eventually awarded with badges as recognition of his/her proficiency on a specific skill set. Besides, a member may be awarded with badges through character and leadership assessment, on top of his/her performance and level of participation in the Company. The former is classified as proficiency awards, and the latter falls under the special awards. 8th Penang’s strength lies in its Senior Section (age 13-20), as with most companies, and it puts much emphasis on the number of awards required before a member is considered a promotion in the ranks. The average number of awards a member can obtain in a company, besides the company size, reflects a company’s strength and quality. 8th Penang requires at least 8, 12 and 15 badges for its Lance Corporals, Corporals and Sergeants. Currently, W/O Loh Si Chyi is the officer-in-charge of the Senior Section’s Awards Scheme in the Company. There are a total of 28 Proficiency Awards laid out by the Boys’ Brigade in Malaysia (BBM) in the Senior Section. These awards are categorised into Compulsory, Interest, Adventure, Community and Physical. 8th Penang currently offers the following badges in its awards programme, covering all the aforementioned categories on a regular basis: # Target # Arts # Bandsmen # Camping # Christian Education # Citizenship # Communication # Community Service # Craft # Drill # Expedition # Fire & Rescue # First Aid # Hobbies # Nature Awareness # Physical Training # Recruitment # Safety # Swimming The other awards not listed above are offered on an ad-hoc basis. They are: 1. Athletics 2. Buglers 3. Computer Knowledge 4. Drummers 5. Environmental Conversation 6. Gymnastics 7. International Relations 8. Life Saving 9. Martial Arts 10. Pipers 11. Sports 12. Water Adventure images of the badge work The Founder’s Badge Members are constantly encouraged to plan diligently to obtain as many badges as possible. Ultimately, attaining the Founder’s Badge (the highest and most prestigious award in the Senior Section) is an aspiration of 8th Penang’s members. As of July 2017, 8th Penang has 19 members awarded the Founder’s Badge, the record holder for the most number of recipients in Malaysia. The candidates are required to obtain the President’s Badge, the second highest award in the Senior Section that requires a proven proficiency in all of the award categories (Compulsory, Interest, Adventure, Community and Physical) and undergo the complete NCO Training School programme endorsed by the National Training Committee. Prior to applying the award, he/she is required to carry out local community services and work on a project beneficial to the Brigade, be it at the local company, state or national level. Aside from that, he/she is required to have his/her parents, teachers and the company captain endorsing him/her for the award through a set of character assessment forms. Finally, the candidate is reviewed by a panel of interviewers. Once a candidate passes the final stage, he/she is referred as a Founder’s Man, or a Founder’s Woman, and the title is held for life. Founder’s Badge holders are not referred as Boys or Girls, but Men or Women, and this implies the embodiment of the ideal result of a member that underwent the BB Method and accomplished the BB Object Receiving the Founder’s Badge is a significant event. In most cases, they are awarded in high profile events such as the Founder’s Day Celebration, the Brigade Council Meeting or the National PESTA, presented by guests of honor.